A TikToker who once proudly drove a Tesla is now second-guessing her decision, telling followers she’s ready to trade the car in for a Rivian despite the financial hit. Like many former fans of Elon Musk’s company, she regrets buying in before Tesla’s reputation and resale value tanked.
Sometimes you have to lose money to hate most effectively.
TikToker needs to ditch the Tesla
On Sunday, @greenemeansgo1 posted a TikTok video appealing to her fans for advice before she commits to trading in her Tesla. She’s looking into Rivian, another electric vehicle (EV) company that specializes in SUVs. They’re not as well-known and established as Tesla, but have drawn the attention of left-wing EV lovers.
Those who bought a Tesla pre-2023 are going through a hard time.
“I bought a Tesla in 2022—before he went off the deep end, or before I knew he was off the deep end, whatever,” said the TikToker. “All the time, in my videos, people rightly point out that I’m driving a Tesla and, ‘b*tch, how could you?’”
@greenemeansgo1 🚨 Help! Should I do it?? #imscared #rivian #ev #electriccar #teslatok ♬ Manifestation – Perfect, so dystopian
“And I agree, I get it,” she admitted. “But it has lost a lot of value since I’ve bought it. Like, a lot, a lot, a lot.”
In March, InsideEVs reported that the value of a used Tesla has dropped as much as $20,000 since 2023. This means that the car you trade it for needs to be significantly worse, or you’re going to be paying that difference. Either way, it sucks to be a Tesla owner right now.
Robert Scaringe founded Rivian in 2009, but it didn’t ship a single car until 2021. With its product finally off the ground, Rivian has earned a reputation as a potential serious competitor for Musk’s company.
Some potential buyers are still nervous, however.
“I’m scared,” said @greenemeansgo1.
“Has anyone gotten a Rivian lately?”
“Rivians are far better than Tesla”
Luckily, the TikToker has a number of followers who have tried out a Rivian, and many found it to be just as good, if not better than, their old Tesla.
“We had 3 Teslas…..and our Rivian was delivered last week. It’s great,” reported @solar_ark. “Minor differences, but most features line up the same. Charges a bit slower in public, so long trips will need better planning for a couple of year [sic]. Other than that, it’s basically a seamless transition.”
“We went from all Tesla family to wife now having an R1S,” wrote @patricksommers. “She loves it. Interior is higher quality. The tech is better in the teslas. Wife doesn’t care about that so it fits her well. Bottom line is you can still charge at Tesla superchargers for road trips.”
On the Rivian Reddit sub, former Tesla owners largely agree that their new car is at least satisfactory. Though new Tesla models may be ahead on software, Rivians have plenty of upsides.
“Rivian wins: Interior luxury, ride comfort, luxury-ness, crazy range of amazing and insanely fun and versatile drive modes), lack of wind noise, build quality,” listed u/TheBowerbird.
“The thing you didn’t ask was what I prefer on the Rivian, and there is a ton,” said u/stupidcleverian. “Too much to list really. The design/form factor/size is a huge plus. The accuracy of the range estimates is a lot better than Tesla. The wheels are big enough not to constantly have curb rash (I’m on the 20” ATs). Not being associated with Elon. Etc.”
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